Mr. Rogers: Can there be a better subject for a feature article?

It's really not even fair. I mean what other person can you read about that will have teh same emotional significane for an adult audience as Mr. Rogers? Nobody! He was just so connected to the childhood of so many Americans, that to see (or read technically) him as a actual human being, stepping out of the television and having scars, and flaky skin is truly and absorbing experience. In case you can't tell, I liked this article, even the part with Koko.

It also got me thinking about what my weight could possibly mean... 152... 152... I loved it! HEY HEY!

Anyway, this article is extrememly well written and does a great job painting the character of Mr. Rogers as a real human being, but not just as a regular joe but as an individual. You see his ticks, his interests, his beliefes, his childhood and a million other tiny little details that help the rosy-voiced character from Public Television come to life on the page. It'd be easy to read Mr. Rogers actions in the article as kinda creepy but the author does a good job of giving you the evidence to see that Fred Rogers' is more relaxed and friendly than creepy.

I also like the actual style of the article, all the "Once Upon A Times", the Bold Rogers, the sort of Hero Worship that rings throughout (New Best Quote Ever, "Holy shit! It's Mister Fucking Rogers!" ) And it had a very sombre style towards the end, but it never got sentimental which I think it easily could have. I didn't get choked up or anything (GRRR, I'M A MAN) but damn was that sad when he told his minister he wanted her to be there when he died.

Good read Dr. Z, keep 'em coming!

An American Male at age 21's thoughts on an American Male at age 10

I am either in love with New Yorker articles from the moment I start reading them or I look at them as putrid piles of indulgent bourgeois crap. This one falls somewhere in between. I generally love the New yorker articles that go super indepth on subjects, such as the drug war in Mexico or the whistle language of a remote tribe in Zimbabwe but its the ones that inject their own opinion on top of what could be a good story I feel like Miss Orlean really wanted to project her ideas of innocence onto this poor little Wyoming kid. I feel like she builds him up to be "DAW" worthy cute and then asks him tough questions about polution or Magic Johnsons having AIDS to show that childlike innocence all grownups romanticize and wish they still had.

I couldn't hate the whole article though because, c'mon, he's so damn cute!!!!

"What's the most important thing in the world?"
"Game Boy." Pause. "No, the world. The world is the most important thing in the world."

Personally, the answer to that one is easy. Screw the world.

But something that bothered me the way the story was written that I realize isn't a huge deal but I still feel like pointing out. If the genders were flipped and a middle age writer for the New Yorker spent all his time following around a 5th grade girl adn her friends and asking them questions he'd get locked up and have his van and all its candy confiscated.

I loved the big blocks of quotes she threw in but like a lot of New Yorker articles this thing really could have used a more concise editor to trim it down a little. I also get that sense of condescenion on the middle class you get in some of their articles such as when Colin's talking about how expensive college is and how his mom was in the 4th tier of the publisher's house sweepstakes. I feel like she could've left that out and still maintained his innocence without making him look stupid and poor.

I would've preferred an article from Nintendo Power personally.

What kind of writer am I?

A sloppy one. No but seriously I am a writer who likes to tackle a diverse amount of subjects and styles. You stress the importance of taking Creative Writing while at Creighton, well I'm one step ahead of you. I'm an English Minor whose already on the second tier of Creative Writing (though I don't care for it as much as I do Journalism). I believe that when writing casually I have a conversational style that tends to lean towards humorous. When trying to to write more professionally I can get a little thick with my language or wording but that's why I'm taking a professional writing class this semester.

The things I like about writing are vast. I like the ability to say something permanently, I like the fact that you can go back and edit ideas and thoughts. I love that you can conjure up images in a person's head without even having to show them a picture and I love the freedom of writing. If you can think it up in your head, chances are you can write it down.

What I don't like about writing is how hard it can be sometimes. There, I said it. Sometimes you'll be writing and you'll just hit a wall like a Volkswagon going 80 mph into a tree. I've spent hours just staring at half-finished papers and Creightonian articles trying to find what else I need to put in them, but once you can get back up to speed I find that it becomes enjoyable once again.

I hope this helps and sorry about not emailing it to you!

It turns out the Internet makes you even more Social!

So after reading the Pew Internet Personal Networks and Community survey I have to say I'm both surprised and a little not surprised. On the one hand there's the social preconception that spending time at your computer makes you a shut in but at the same time most people when they are on their computer they are on a social network, socializing soooooo of course it makes people more sociable.

The internet isn't just a box you crawl into to turn off your brain like television, it's a social platform wherein you can interact with people via social media. I'm on facebook right now and I've already commented on friend's status and one's new job. What a world!

I find it interesting that people who are more connected to the internet (bloggers and whatnot) are actually more involved in there community though it makes sense when you think about it. To be an actual good blogger you have to have things to blog about so you have to work hard and go out there and do things like volunteer or talk to your friends.

Also, "Only 6% of the adult population has no one with whom they can discuss important matters or who they consider to be “especially significant” in their life." :( I feel really bad for that 6%. They're probably 50% old people and cat ladies too. Oh well, I know what'll cheer me up. Those guitar shredding North Korean Toddlers!

Happy Birthday ENIAC!!!! FREE POST!!!!

Hello gang, and welcome to another post on my blog. Today we'll be celebrating somebody's birthday. Whose you may ask? Well, his great-great grandchildren are sitting right in front of you? Give up? It's ENIAC or the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer or Ol' Uncle Eenie. Yes on this day in 1947 the Army Ballistics Division switched on Ol' Uncle Eenie and it was in continuous operation until 1955. The ENIAC increased processing speeds by 1,000 creating the largest processing speed increase in history. The title remains unchallenged.
If you want the official in depth version of the story of what the press referred to as a "Giant Brain" click here but if you wanna play a game of guess which facts I throw out are true or false then continue!!!

1. ENIAC was the size of a whole Apartment Block.
2. ENIAC was first tested by doing calculations on the atom bomb.
3. FDR had high hopes that ENIAC would help him walking again.
4. ENIAC was staffed almost entirely by smokin hot babes.
5. ENIAC had problems with transistor tubes blowing every 15 minutes
6. The decision to shut down the computer was made after the Army realized ENIAC became self-aware
7. The film the Matrix is loosely based on ENIAC's story.
8. ENIAC was made in Maryland by a bunch of nerds.
9. ENIAC is alive in a bunker in Colorado secretly controlling the internet.

ANSWERS!!!!!
1. True, it was huge! 2. True also! 3. FDR didn't even know what a computer was so FalseDR! 4. True true and true 5. No actually it was very reliable and only had transistors blow out every couple of days. 6. False 7. Only if you watch the film backwards 8. False, Pennsylvania, though true on the nerd part 9. False... or is it?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ENIAC!!!!!!

What I learned about facebook from the Nebraska Humane Society

On Monday I tried to fight the urge to just stare at all the picture of cute cats and dogs and took in some serious lessons about social networking from our time at the Nebraska Humane Society. I'll even number the list so as to be more organized.

1. How to deal with the Trolls.
Apparently, even if you're an organization that helps puppies, you're gonna get hate from random strangers on the internet. I learned that in most cases the best idea is to state you're policies on whatever problem they have and to leave the comment up because if you take it down it will just enrage the troll even more. Though in a few special cases it may be in your best interest to simply delete the comment and possibly pursue legal action, especially if the troll is harassing you frequently.

2. Analytics. You will spend all your time looking at analytics.
To make you're bosses believe that you're actually doing something productive and not just messing around on facebook you have to have the facts to back up the site. You also have to keep track of how many people unsubscribe, how long people are on the site, how many people y tview as compared to how many people comment and all kinds of micromanagement internet stuff that went way over my head. And then you have to convince your bosses that all these people visiting the site is good because it ups your brand/increases revenue/gets more donations/etc.

3. Engage your audience.
I think I heard the word engage almost as much as puppy at the Humane Society Monday. Seriously though I learned that if you reply to people it makes them feel as though they aren't just commenting for no reason. It encourages your viewers to return and it creates a more appealing environment on your website. Another way to engage is to not just comment but make sure that things lke videos and notes encourage your viewers to comment and engage them to be involved.

4. KITTIES!!!!!!!!!!!


5. But seriously
It helps you get fans if you happen to be an organization that specializes in adorable animals. Though you have to be smart about how you post videos of these animals and how you respond to the people that comment if you want to stay up there. Great field trip overall!

Five great Finger Pickin Guitar Tunes or 3-year old North Korean Shreds your face off!!!!!!

Acoustic guitar is a radical instrument and is used by hundred s of thousands of greasy teenagers expressing their feelings and lame stuff like that. But just strumming chords is like only using your thumbs to type on the keyboard. (It stinks!) Anyhoo, everybody knows individually striking the strings with your fingers is way better. Just look at this video of youtube artist SOS auto playing 9 lb hammer.



Some say Finger picking is the style of grungy dirty acoustic tree huggers. They're pretty much right. Numero dos is the all time finger picking great and Guitar Vitruoso John Fahey, enjoy his rendition of Poor Boy's Long way from Home.


Paul McCartney actually wrote his all time classic "Black Bird" after learning finger picking from folk 60s hero Donovan. This undeniably great song and one that every goofball amateur guitarist learns right before stumbling through Stairway to Heaven at the coffee shop for the 8th time. Anyway BLACKBIRD!!!!


Here's effeminate singer song-writer Ryan Adams doing a much more understated fingerpicking song to highlight the tenderness of his song "Sweet Carolina." The notes really pluck along well with the melody he sings and adds an intimacy you wouldn't get with chugging chords. He's married to Mandy Moore now. That's so weird.


Now the finale! A North Korean 3 year old girl shredding here way through Choro Brasil!!!!!!!!!!!! Who cares that they just devalued all their currency! They've got shredding little girls!!!!!!! Goodnight!